Planning a home renovation insurance update in Florida? A kitchen remodel, room addition, or major renovation changes your home’s value — and your insurance needs to keep up. Failing to update your policy during or after a renovation can leave you seriously underinsured, meaning you would receive far less than you need to rebuild if disaster strikes. Here is what to tell your agent before, during, and after construction on your Fort Myers area home.
Before Construction: Notify Your Insurance Agent
The most important step most homeowners skip is calling their insurance agent before work begins. Most homeowners insurance policies have a vacancy or renovation clause that affects coverage during construction. If your insurer does not know about a major renovation in progress, they may deny or reduce a claim for damage that occurs during construction.
Increases in dwelling value from a renovation are not automatically reflected in your coverage limit. If you are adding a $75,000 room addition to a home insured for $350,000, your dwelling coverage still sits at $350,000 unless you call your agent and increase it. After the renovation, your home’s replacement cost is $425,000, but your policy only covers $350,000 — leaving a $75,000 gap.
Your agent may recommend a builder’s risk policy or a renovation endorsement for the construction period. Builder’s risk covers the structure and materials during active construction, protecting against fire, theft, vandalism, and weather damage to the work in progress. The cost is minimal — typically $500 to $2,000 for a residential renovation — and it fills a gap that your standard homeowner’s policy may not cover.
Confirm with your agent that your existing policy covers damage caused during construction. Some policies exclude damage that results from construction activity unless you have added the appropriate endorsement. A burst pipe during a bathroom renovation, a fire from welding sparks, or wind damage to a temporarily exposed roof section could all fall into this gap.
Verify Your Contractor’s Insurance and Permits
Before any work begins, require a certificate of insurance from your contractor showing both general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage. This is not optional — it is your financial protection. General liability covers property damage caused by the contractor’s work, while workers’ comp covers injuries to their employees.
If a worker is injured on your property and the contractor lacks workers’ compensation insurance, your homeowner’s policy may be held liable for medical bills and lost wages. This scenario has put Florida homeowners on the hook for six-figure claims. A legitimate contractor will provide their certificate of insurance without hesitation.
Make sure your contractor pulls any permits required for the work and gives you copies of permits, invoices, product approvals, and final inspection records. Unpermitted or undocumented work can complicate underwriting, resale, or claim review, so confirm requirements before the project starts.
Verify permit status through Lee County’s online portal or ask your contractor to show you the issued permit before work starts. Keep a copy in your files alongside the contractor’s insurance certificate.
During Construction: Risks to Monitor
Renovation sites are magnets for specific risks that homeowners need to monitor and discuss with their insurance agent. Theft of building materials from an open job site is more common than most people realize, especially for high-value items like impact windows, copper plumbing, and appliances. Your policy may cover this theft, but confirm the limits with your agent — there may be a sublimit for materials not yet installed.
Fire risk increases during renovation, particularly when work involves electrical rewiring, welding, soldering, or roofing with torches. Make sure smoke detectors are maintained and functional in all occupied areas of the home, and ensure your contractor follows proper fire safety protocols. Ask whether your contractor carries inland marine insurance, which specifically covers tools and materials at the job site.
Water damage from exposed plumbing or roofing during construction is one of the most common claim sources during renovation. A contractor who removes a section of roof for a remodel and fails to properly tarp it before an afternoon thunderstorm can cause tens of thousands of dollars in water damage. Your policy should cover this, but review your deductible and confirm there are no construction-related exclusions.
If you are living elsewhere during the renovation, your home may be classified as “unoccupied” under your policy — triggering different coverage terms with higher deductibles or reduced payouts. Notify your agent if you plan to move out during construction, even temporarily.
After Construction: Update Your Coverage
Once construction is complete, increase your dwelling coverage to reflect the new replacement cost of your upgraded home. This is the step that protects your investment going forward. If you completed a $50,000 kitchen renovation, you need at least $50,000 more in dwelling coverage to ensure your policy would fully rebuild the home including the improvements.
The same principle applies to room additions, bathroom remodels, lanai enclosures, and any project that increases your home’s square footage or quality of finishes. Your agent can order a replacement cost estimate or use construction cost data to calculate the appropriate coverage increase.
Update your contents coverage if you added built-in appliances, fixtures, or cabinetry. Items that are permanently installed are typically covered under dwelling coverage, but the line between “contents” and “dwelling” varies by policy. New Sub-Zero refrigerators, built-in wine coolers, and custom cabinetry should all be reflected in your updated coverage.
If you added square footage, your premium will increase — but so will your protection. Paying an extra $200 to $400 per year in premium to protect a $75,000 addition is well worth it.
Renovation Features That Lower Premiums
Some renovations actually reduce your insurance premiums by addressing risk factors that insurers penalize. New roofing with a hip-style design and FBC-equivalent materials earns wind mitigation credits that can save hundreds per year. If your renovation includes a full roof replacement, make sure your roofer installs hurricane straps (not clips or toe-nails) for the maximum roof-to-wall connection credit.
Updated plumbing is another premium reducer. Replacing polybutylene pipes — common in Florida homes built between 1978 and 1995 — with PEX or copper removes a common insurer concern. Some carriers charge surcharges or decline to insure homes with polybutylene piping, so a plumbing upgrade during renovation can expand your carrier options and lower your rate.
Impact-rated windows or shutters installed during a renovation earn opening protection credits on your wind mitigation report. If you are already opening up walls for a remodel, adding impact windows at the same time reduces the incremental installation cost. Similarly, updated electrical panels — replacing Federal Pacific or Zinsco panels with modern breaker panels — can remove insurability flags that some carriers use to decline coverage or add surcharges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a separate insurance policy during renovation?
It depends on the scope. Minor cosmetic updates usually do not require additional coverage. Major renovations — room additions, structural changes, roof replacements — may require a builder’s risk policy or a renovation endorsement on your homeowners policy. Ask your agent before work begins.
Will my homeowners insurance cover damage caused by my contractor?
Your contractor’s general liability insurance should be the primary coverage for damage they cause. If your contractor lacks insurance, your homeowners policy may respond, but it could increase your claims history and future premiums. Always verify contractor insurance before hiring.
How soon after renovation should I update my insurance?
Immediately upon completion. Every day your home is underinsured is a day you are exposed to a coverage gap. Call your agent as soon as the final inspection passes and update your dwelling coverage to reflect the new replacement cost.
Renovating your Fort Myers home? Contact Bassine Insurance Agency before construction starts so we can review your coverage and recommend the right protection during and after your project. Call (239) 995-0333 to schedule a free policy review.
For another consumer-facing overview of renovation coverage questions, see Progressive’s guide to home insurance while renovating, then confirm the details with your own agent because policy language and carrier rules vary.
